Irked over sons' habit of stealing money, UP man throws them into canal, 1 dies, another missing

In a shocking incident, a man in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur threw his two sons into a canal on Thursday after being upset over his minor sons' habit of stealing money. Villagers managed to recover the body of the younger son while National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was called to continue the search for the second boy who was 11-year-old. The man was arrested on Friday and sent to jail, police said.

According to a report by Times of India (TOI), Mukesh Gautam, fed up with his sons’ habit of stealing money, lured them to the canal under the guise of buying chocolates. Village head Brij Kishore Chaudhary recounted, “He took them out, promising treats, but threw them into the canal instead.”

Mukesh later confessed to the police that his frustrations stemmed from the children’s repeated theft of money from his pocket to buy toffees and their lack of interest in studies. “They neither attended school nor showed any ambition, choosing to loiter around the village,” he said during questioning.

Mukesh’s wife, Sangeeta expressed dismay at his failure to guide the children. “Instead of counselling them, he resorted to something so unthinkable,” she said.

Authorities also noted that Mukesh claimed to be undergoing treatment for a mental ailment in Gorakhpur. SHO Pachpedwa Awadhesh Raj Singh confirmed the arrest of the accused, who has since been sent to jail.